In my LE career, I have carried three cartridges, all in GLOCKs.
9x19mm, .40 S&W, and .45 GAP.
Everyone loves 9x19mm, so that isn't the one of the two cartridges I'm talking about. Yup, I'm a dirty .40 S&W and .45 GAP lover. I actually like both. Yeah, I have a ton of 9x19mm and .45 ACP in my personal collection. But I really like .40 S&W and .45 GAP. I like it so much, while I don't have a GLOCK chambered in .45 GAP anymore (it was agency issue, never a private purchased piece). I have .45 GAP loaded on moonclips for my S&W Model 625-6 and the Colt M1917 and S&W M1917.
And for .40 S&W, I have GLOCKs, S&Ws, Berettas, Brownings, HKs, and SIG all chambered in it. But with my S&W Model 610-2 now in my collection. I also have moonclips loaded in .40 S&W for the revolver.
I just like both cartridges and I wish that .45 GAP got a better chance than what it got. The biggest downfall with .45 GAP was that it wasn't chambered in enough guns. You have the GLOCK 37, 38, and 39. Plus a short run of a Springfield Armory XD full-size and a Para Ordnance compact 1911. There were no Berettas, HK, FNs, nor SIG chambered in it.
But the biggest killer of the .45 GAP was actually the ending of the Clinton AWB. Remember, new guns were limited to 10rds or less. A GLOCK 37 held 10rds of .45 GAP without any block installed in the magazine. It just naturally fit 10rds.
Now, I'm not in any way saying the ban should have been renewed (thank God it died the death that is did twenty years ago). But the .45 GAP was GLOCK as a company hedging their bets for a product to take root in an artificially neutered market. If the AWB didn't expire, the .45 GAP would have probably gained popularity due to the fact that a lot of consumers hated having a gun with "dead space" in the magazine. A neutered GLOCK 17 magazine was just wasted space. But a GLOCK 37 was all that space being used up.
Consumers back then figured "if I can't get 17rds of 9mm, I'll get 10rds of .40 or .45." Folks went with "there's no replacement for displacement."
But the AWB did die and the buying populace in the majority of the country was able to freely buy 17rd mags again. And .45 GAP lingered on into the Gen 4 roll-over but died as a duty cartridge in the 2010s when the big 5 state agencies ditched it. FL, GA, NY, PA, and SC all issued it to their State Police/Highway Patrol. But soon enough, those agencies along with the municipal agencies that followed suit dropped the cartridge and the guns chambered in them.
.40 S&W stayed around much longer in police holsters and there are still some holdouts. But the Centimeter Cartridge will soon be retired as a LE cartridge, much like how .41 Magnum and .357 SIG have been in their service histories.
In the end, I'm not ditching my .40 S&Ws and if I continue to find .45 GAP ammo for the cheap, I'll buy it up. But I think the batch of ammo I have is going to be it and there'll be no more replacement.
Alas.... I enjoyed .45 GAP and I will continue to enjoy .40 S&W.
9x19mm, .40 S&W, and .45 GAP.
Everyone loves 9x19mm, so that isn't the one of the two cartridges I'm talking about. Yup, I'm a dirty .40 S&W and .45 GAP lover. I actually like both. Yeah, I have a ton of 9x19mm and .45 ACP in my personal collection. But I really like .40 S&W and .45 GAP. I like it so much, while I don't have a GLOCK chambered in .45 GAP anymore (it was agency issue, never a private purchased piece). I have .45 GAP loaded on moonclips for my S&W Model 625-6 and the Colt M1917 and S&W M1917.
And for .40 S&W, I have GLOCKs, S&Ws, Berettas, Brownings, HKs, and SIG all chambered in it. But with my S&W Model 610-2 now in my collection. I also have moonclips loaded in .40 S&W for the revolver.
I just like both cartridges and I wish that .45 GAP got a better chance than what it got. The biggest downfall with .45 GAP was that it wasn't chambered in enough guns. You have the GLOCK 37, 38, and 39. Plus a short run of a Springfield Armory XD full-size and a Para Ordnance compact 1911. There were no Berettas, HK, FNs, nor SIG chambered in it.
But the biggest killer of the .45 GAP was actually the ending of the Clinton AWB. Remember, new guns were limited to 10rds or less. A GLOCK 37 held 10rds of .45 GAP without any block installed in the magazine. It just naturally fit 10rds.
Now, I'm not in any way saying the ban should have been renewed (thank God it died the death that is did twenty years ago). But the .45 GAP was GLOCK as a company hedging their bets for a product to take root in an artificially neutered market. If the AWB didn't expire, the .45 GAP would have probably gained popularity due to the fact that a lot of consumers hated having a gun with "dead space" in the magazine. A neutered GLOCK 17 magazine was just wasted space. But a GLOCK 37 was all that space being used up.
Consumers back then figured "if I can't get 17rds of 9mm, I'll get 10rds of .40 or .45." Folks went with "there's no replacement for displacement."
But the AWB did die and the buying populace in the majority of the country was able to freely buy 17rd mags again. And .45 GAP lingered on into the Gen 4 roll-over but died as a duty cartridge in the 2010s when the big 5 state agencies ditched it. FL, GA, NY, PA, and SC all issued it to their State Police/Highway Patrol. But soon enough, those agencies along with the municipal agencies that followed suit dropped the cartridge and the guns chambered in them.
.40 S&W stayed around much longer in police holsters and there are still some holdouts. But the Centimeter Cartridge will soon be retired as a LE cartridge, much like how .41 Magnum and .357 SIG have been in their service histories.
In the end, I'm not ditching my .40 S&Ws and if I continue to find .45 GAP ammo for the cheap, I'll buy it up. But I think the batch of ammo I have is going to be it and there'll be no more replacement.
Alas.... I enjoyed .45 GAP and I will continue to enjoy .40 S&W.
